Adult disease is a generic expression for disease and pathology including diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, impaired liver function, renal failure, adiposity, erectile dysfunction, menopausal disorder, shoulder discomfort, and low back pain. Formerly, it was thought that these diseases developed with aging. However, recently, it has been revealed that lifestyle habits for a long time are strongly associated with the onset as a so-called lifestyle-related disease. It is believed that the onset and development mechanism of each disease are associated with each other, and the state wherein hypertension, hyperlipidemia, or diabetes is combined with adiposity is called specifically metabolic syndrome, to which caution is raised. However, there is no particular therapeutic agent, treatment method, preventative agent or preventing method for it. The present situation is that the medical staffs or patients are unnecessarily confused.
Adult diseases decrease significantly the quality of patient's life, and there is a risk of complications. Particularly, the number of patients is rapidly increasing in developed countries. While number of medicines for preventing/ameliorating an adult disease has been developed, each of them is an agent for ameliorating individual symptom, such as lowering blood glucose level of diabetes, lowering blood pressure, or lowering cholesterol levels, and the action mechanism is mostly the inhibition of a particular enzyme, etc.
For example, concerning diabetes, currently most of the diabetes is a so-called type II diabetes, being insulin resistant, and agents for inhibiting glucose metabolism or agents for suppressing absorption from foods have been developed. It is said that these inhibitors or agents for suppressing absorption are exerting a certain effect. However, as the radical cause of diabetes onset is a diminished ability to absorb sugar into cells, it is thought that an approach of suppressing furnishing sugar to cells or blood is not an essential solution, leading to decrease of life activation of the patient.
Concerning hyperlipidemia, health foods targeting suppression of fat absorption or agents inhibiting cholesterol metabolism (i.e. statin agents) are fulfilling market needs. However, it is known that while statin agents etc. decrease significantly cholesterol in the body that is said to be associated with arterial sclerosis, they suppress supply of ubiquinone etc. associated with basal metabolism at the same time. It is reported that risks of cardiac infarct are immunologically decreased in some degree, while the onset ratio of cancer increases thereby increasing mortal ratio, which is an issue.
Concerning hypertension, antihypertensives lowering blood pressure with various inhibitors are sold additionally to the traditional calcium antagonists, and are forming a huge market. However, it is merely a symptomatic treatment which is not an approach to remove basic causes. Regarding antihypertensives, effectiveness of the administration is discussed concerning their immunological effectiveness or side effects.
Concerning impaired liver function, it is known that interferon treatment exhibits an effect for viral liver dysfunction. However, there is no effective means for a general decrease of liver function which is non-viral, and presently people are relying on nutritional supplements or folk medicine. It is empirically known that bear gall (Kumanoi) which was developed from Chinese herbal medicine has a certain effect, but the action mechanism as well as active ingredients is not specified. Many health foods are sold saying that freshwater clam or turmeric is effective, while the effect is not demonstrated. Further, an agent for improving liver function comprising sodium protoporphyrin as main ingredient has been used from a long time ago, but it is said that its effect is not sufficient, and photolesion is known as a side effect.
Concerning renal failure, dialysis is frequently performed during the treatment. However, it is to conduct renal function artificially, which is a prime example of a symptomatic treatment, not related with improvement of renal function. At present, for the improvement of renal function people are relying on nutritional supplements or folk medicine, as in the case of liver. Further, dialysis is the biggest cause of medical cost increase.
Adiposity is abominated as being the principal cause of all adult diseases. However, there is no suitable medicine, and dietary health foods suppressing absorption or digestion, or exercises are recommended, which are forming a giant market, causing not only financial but also mental burden. By taking the same amount of meal, a person gets certainly more weight with advancing age, compared to when young. This is not because absorption or digestion increases with advancing age, neither lack of exercise is the main cause, but it is because the basal metabolism is decreased. No approach to resolve adiposity by improving basal metabolism is known.
Concerning erectile dysfunction, an effective medicine called Viagra has been developed, which has improved life of many patients afflicted with erectile dysfunction. However, its action mechanism is dilation of blood vessels, and administration of Viagra leads physical erectile. However, the erection is not accompanied by an original emotion, and there is a risk of inducing cardiac diseases. Also in this field, folk medicines such as viper, rhinoceros horn, seal, or turtle are widely known. However, these folk medicines have no scientific nature, and rather many examples affecting health are known. Specifically, no basic approach focusing on the phenomenon that erection is weakened with advancing age is known.
Concerning menopausal disorder, generally, it is said to encompass malaise or depression induced by hormone imbalance in women after menopause. However, recently, it is known that menopausal disorder develops also in men, exhibiting symptoms including malaise and depression, similarly as women. When the case is severe, a treatment method comprising supplementing hormone is performed to men and women, which is effective. However, in case of women, a long time administration may increase risks of breast cancer or uterus cancer, or risks of cardiac infarct or cerebral stroke, which is an issue. In case of men, increase of risks of prostate cancer is an issue.
Concerning tension including shoulder discomfort and low back pain, although accurately it is not a disease but a symptom, there are many people suffering from shoulder discomfort and low back pain with advancing age. Treatment including acupuncture, jujutsu, massage, spa treatment etc; and medicines including poultice are forming a big business. There are many causes of tension such as shoulder discomfort and low back pain, of which stagnation of blood flow can be exemplified as one of main causes. Existing treatment and medicines are focusing on the improvement of blood flow. It is clear that no effective solution has been yet found out even though various means are proposed, from the fact that there are many people who are suffering from these symptoms with advancing age.
In the above, current status of adult diseases, and actual condition of therapeutic agents or treatment methods have been briefly explained. Generally, it can be said that decrease of basal metabolism with advancing age is the common cause or remote cause of adult diseases. It can be redefined to be remaining glucose or fat in blood caused by decrease of basal metabolism, leakage of active oxygen caused by impaired energy production system, and accumulation of gene defect caused thereby. Therefore, the basic treatment or prevention of adult diseases is related to how to keep the basal metabolism in a good state. However, as already stated, western medicine is an approach to treat with a biochemical inhibitor, which is merely a symptomatic treatment and not a radical treatment. Oriental medicine and traditional medicine have a basic idea that it is important to keep the fundamental basal metabolism, while specific solutions are within the range of breathing maneuver, body exercise, and use of traditional herbs, which effect is not sufficient.
In such conditions, development of a really effective therapeutic agent, treating method, preventive agent, and preventive method of adult diseases aiming to improve basal metabolism, with a scientific support and not being a merely symptomatic treatment is awaited.
On the other hand, ALA is known as an intermediate of pigment biosynthesis pathway, widely present in animals, plants, and bacteria, and is generally biosynthesized by 5-aminolevulinic acid synthase, from succinyl CoA and glycine. ALA itself does not have a photosensitization activity, but it is said to induce protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) via pigment biosynthesis pathway. Since it has been reported that by applying ALA and irradiating light, skin cancer can be treated (see for example, non-patent document 1), many methods for diagnosing and treating lesions of various sites using ALA have been reported. For example, an agent for diagnosing and treating tumors is prepared which has been developed from the fact that when ALA, its derivative, or salts thereof (hereinafter also referred to as “ALAs”) is administered in the body, PpIX which is said to have tumor affinity is biosynthesized, and that when PpIX accumulated in tumor cells is irradiated with light, surrounding oxygen molecules are photoexcited, and that the resulting singlet oxygen has a cytotoxic effect due to its strong oxidative power (see for example patent documents 1 to 3).
Further, in bladder, it is known that it is possible to detect bladder cancer, by filling bladder with a radiosensitizing solution comprising ALAs via urethra, irradiating light after a certain time, and observing fluorescence with a microscope (see for example non patent document 2). Further, a hair restorer comprising an iron compound and one or more compounds selected from 5-aminolevulinic acid, its salt, or ester derivative thereof, as an active ingredient (see for example patent document 4), or an agent for preventing and ameliorating dry skin (see for example see patent document 5) has been proposed.